I thought WWE Hell in a Cell on Sunday would set up and possibly lock in the champions heading into WrestleMania XXX.
Now, with Randy Orton as WWE champion and John Cena as world heavyweight champion, I’m not so sure.
I was very surprised and disappointed that WWE didn’t have Daniel Bryan win the WWE title.
That sentiment was shared by Daytona Beach’s Gary Van Auken, who attended the event in Miami.“Bryan losing was a huge disappointment,” Van Auken said. “It’s like four months in a row now. Everybody in the building is chanting for Daniel Bryan. It happens outside the arena and during other matches.
“I don’t think they’re going to drag it (his eventual title win) out. But I think eventually it’ll be Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H.”
Van Auken thought the crowd was solid.“They were into it,” Van Auken said. “They started off really well and then hit a lull in the middle with some non-suspenseful matches.”
Although I thought the triple-threat match was somewhat busy, Van Auken enjoyed it.
“It was the most exciting match,” Van Auken said. “It was a good match all along, with some good spots like the superplex to the outside. Everybody was rooting for Goldust and Cody Rhodes.”
And as for John Cena?
“We loved Cena winning,” Van Auken said. “The crowd all night was either doing the “Yes!” or “Cena” chants throughout the show.
“There were also a lot of ‘We want Ziggler’ chants, as he was visible commentating.”
I asked Van Auken about Paul Heyman being on top of the steel-cage structure for the CM Punk vs. Ryback match.
“We forgot he was up there,” Van Auken said. “It was a neat idea. As soon as he went up there, it locked in that Punk had to win.”
Great point.
Thanks for your comments, Gary.
Now, let’s review:
Damien Sandow beats Kofi Kingston. REACT: This match was thrown together, as Big E. Langston vs. Curtis Axel was scrapped due to Axel’s injury. This match even had a commercial during it. Smart to have Sandow win, but nothing special here. Pretty average. PICK: None.WWE Tag Team Title Match
Cody Rhodes/Goldust beat The Usos and Seth Rollins/Roman Reigns. REACT: I thought this match was too busy. It had its strong points, highlighted by the superplex to the floor by Rhodes on Seth Rollins. Awesome move. Goldust and Rhodes continue to shine. PICK: I’m 1-0.
The Miz calls out Bray Wyatt, is beaten down by Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, who get beaten down by the returning Kane, who chokeslams The Miz. REACT: This was a filler segment to try to advance a feud. It was confusing, though, as Kane assisted The Miz and then chokeslammed him.
Fandango/Summer Rae beat The Great Khali/Natalya. REACT: I reported here recently that Summer Rae would start getting a push. The result supports that theory. Summer Rae, and even Natalya, were halfway decent in the match. Fandango couldn’t do much with the huge and slow Khali. Nice job, ladies. PICK: None.
Big E Langston beats Dean Ambrose by countout. REACT: Awesome matchup on paper, but these two didn’t deliver a great one. Smart to have no clean winner, as Langston is starting to get a huge push and Ambrose shouldn’t be losing to stop his momentum. I think these two just need a few more matches together. PICK: None.Handicap Hell In a Cell Match
CM Punk beats Ryback. REACT: Yes, Ryback is officially in the doghouse. I couldn’t stand how Paul Heyman was on top of the cage the entire match. What was the point of that? These two, sadly, didn’t work well together. No fault of their own, necessarily, but just a bad matchup. The best part of this match was the post-match with Punk climbing to the top of the cage and beating down Heyman with the kendo stick. PICK: I’m 1-1.Los Matadores beat Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro. REACT: Nothing great here. I’m glad Los Matadores got a much-needed win, but I’m surprised it came with the pin and then humiliation from Torito on Antonio Cesaro. I counted 29 rotation swings by Cesaro, and I believe his TV record is 30. Win there, but this match wasn’t that great. PICK: I’m 2-1.World Heavyweight Title Match
John Cena beat Alberto Del Rio. REACT: I couldn’t stand how WWE teased Sandow cashing in several times during this match. Really, though, it made sense to have Cena win here and not lose the belt to Sandow. It’s John Cena, for crying out loud. I just can’t figure out the direction WWE is going with this title. Maybe a unification bout at WrestleMania? The match was very slow, especially early on. I believe it was because Cena was somewhat limited coming off injury. The match wasn’t that horrible compared to the rest of this card, though. PICK: I’m 2-2, then 2-3 for the cash-in prediction.WWE Divas Title Match
AJ Lee beats Brie Bella. REACT: Pretty average Divas match. I’m glad AJ retained the title, but what the heck is next for the Divas division? PICK: I’m 2-4.Hell In a Cell for the WWE Title
Randy Orton beats Daniel Bryan.Special Referee: Shawn Michaels.
REACT: Sad Triple H and Shawn Michaels stealed the spotlight from Orton and Bryan. I don’t get it. Nor do I get Bryan losing this match. Enough is enough with Bryan not being champion. This is right up there now with The Rock beating John Cena at WrestleMania. I want to know the real story behind this. Does WWE really just not have faith in Bryan as a champion? I’m starting to believe this. Orton and Bryan put on what was probably the best match of the night, but that’s not saying much. The ending was rather busy with HHH and HBK spending too much time chatting. I liked Bryan taking out HHH, and I’m not stunned HBK took out Bryan to lead to the pin. I understand Big Show was “threatened with arrest” if he showed up, but that left little options to assist Bryan. PICK: I’m 2-5.ANALYSIS: There of the nine matches/segments were unannounced. That’s not what is best for business. While Axel reportedly had an injury, that’s bad planning. Other than Cena and Orton winning the belts — which is big for the history books — this was a very dry PPV. Nothing great. Nothing shocking. No five-star matches. And HHH and HBK hogging the spotlight at the end of a world-title match, with Bryan losing yet again. GRADE: D+.WHAT’S NEXT: JAWBreaker plans to attend Monday Night Raw in Orlando. I’d like to see Bryan win the WWE title, but I know that won’t happen. I’d go as far as saying we’re more likely to see a unification world title match at WrestleMania XXX between Orton and Cena. Sadly, that might be what HHH thinks is best for business. I totally disagree. WWE is missing its chance and losing fans day-by-day with every Bryan title-match loss.LATEST HEADLINES AND MY REACTS
Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth, Kaitlyn and Josh Mathews host WWE kick-off show. REACT: Ziggler has dropped that far now? Shaking my head…
Konnan said he would get rid of Brad Maddox, JoJo, Rosa Mendes, Curtis Axel, 3MB and Aksana. Konnan said he would push Dolph Ziggler and Antonio Cesaro. REACT: I agree 100 percent with Konnan’s pushes. I don’t have any major problem with his de-pushes.
Carter familiy looking to sell TNA Wrestling? REACT: This doesn’t shock me. Of the rumored buyers, I think Jeff Jarrett and WWE would be ahead of Viacom and Eric Bischoff.

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